Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. ¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; ¹⁵ so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

John 3:16 is perhaps the single most frequently quoted verse in the Bible. Jesus says:    “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   That verse sums up God’s purpose for Jesus coming to earth to fulfill His plan for man. He sent Jesus, as our redeemer, because of His love. If God were the angry God, wanting to exercise His wrath on people for their failures, He would not have sent His Son to die for our sins. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  The cross is the demonstration of God’s perfect, unconditional love for us. John 3:16 says that whoever believes in Jesus, that He died for their sins will receive the promise of eternal life, God’s plan for man. It is as simple as that. There is nothing more we can or need to do than believe that Jesus died for our sins.

Yet in the context of John 3, we see that there is both a condition to our believing and also a consequence, something that causes us to believe and something that is caused by our belief. In verses 3-6 Jesus says:   “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”…  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”     Jesus speaks of being born of the Spirit before He speaks of the promise of eternal life through believing in Him. In John 16:8 Jesus says:   “And when He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”   Without the action of the Holy Spirit, to convict people regarding their sin, there would be no believing in Christ. Someone who doesn’t know they have sinned will not believe in a Savior. Without the Holy Spirit, if people feel anything at all regarding their sin, it is guilt and condemnation. The Holy Spirit does not condemn. Condemnation comes either from man or the devil.  Verses 14-15 say: “ the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”    Guilt and condemnation cause us to be down cast, to look down. The Holy Spirit causes us to look up, to see our redeemer Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the necessary cause of our believing in Jesus.

But more than simply the presence and the conviction of the Holy Spirit causing us to believe, Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”…  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”   So not only does the Holy Spirit cause us to believe in Jesus, that He died for our sins, but also the Holy Spirit cause us to change. John 3:16 says whoever believes will have eternal life. But to enter into the kingdom of God we must also be born of the Spirit. We must be born again. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 says:  if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.      If we believe in Christ, we are not only forgiven for our sin, but we are changed, we are made new. Jesus says we must be born of water and the Spirit. Romans 6:4 says: Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.    If we are born of the Spirit we no longer follow our own desires, but rather we walk in the new life we have been given. That is the consequence of our believing, what is caused; we are changed.

In verses 17-21 of today’s text Jesus speaks of the evidence of that change. He says:  “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”    If we believe in Jesus, in response to the demonstration of God’s love for us, we will both love and practice God’s truth and walk in His light. Jesus says:   “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)  

There is nothing we can add to the finished work of the cross. All we need is to believe that we were sinners and that He died for our sins. While we cannot add to the work of the cross, the work of the cross will add to us. We will be changed, made new. We will walk in the newness of life.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ my Savior and Redeemer; precious Holy Spirit thank You for Your perfect, unconditional love demonstrated in the cross, Thank You that there is no condemnation in You and that in Christ I am made new. Holy Spirit I yield to You, choosing to walk in the newness of life provided through the cross. May my life be evidence to others of Your love, that they too may see and glorify You,  believing that You died for their sins.   Amen.